Water EUM- Effective Utility Management
Over the past several years, APWA has been working with the EPA Office of Water and other national associations in the sector to bring useful resources and tools on sustainable utility management. The first set of resources developed through this collaboration was the Effective Utility Management attributes and Primer.

Rural and Small Systems Guidebook to Sustainable Utility Management
The EPA Office of Water partnered with the US Department of Agriculture to produce water management resources specific to small and rural communities. This guidebook helps such systems assess the effectiveness of their operations, prioritize potential improvements, and develop an action plan to address these priorities.

Workshop in a Box
The Workshop in a Box contains a series of materials and instructions to help both rural and small systems and service providers market and conduct workshops based on the USDA/EPA guidebook.

City of Gainesville Credit Basin Project
The City of Gainesville’s Credit Basin Program is designed to recuperate capital costs associated with the purchase of land for master stormwater facilities.The City of Gainesville, in collaboration with the St. Johns River Water Management District, initiated the credit basin program in 2002. The program was created to facilitate redevelopment of properties within the City’s urban core, where land area is at a premium and thus on-site water quality treatment was an impediment to redevelopment.

Humboldt Stormwater Greenway Project, City Of Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles’ Watershed Protection Division within the Bureau of Sanitation recently completed construction of the Humboldt Stormwater Greenway by implementing green infrastructure design to improve the sustainability of a local community. The Project constructed an above ground detention basin for temporary runoff storage in order to capture, infiltrate, and remove pollutants from dry-weather runoff and limited stormwater flows from approximately 3.5 acres of adjacent lands, thereby improving the downstream water quality of Los AngelesRiver receiving waters.

Urban Drainage and Flood Control District: Sustainability on a Large Scale – Denver Metropolitan Area
In 1965, the Denver metropolitan area was hit with a devastating flood on the South Platte River. Following the flood, an organization of county engineers began meeting to find ways to address drainage problems that crossed jurisdictional boundaries. In 1969, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Urban Drainage and Flood Control Act. The legislation established the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District for the purpose of assisting local governments in the Denver metropolitan area with multi-jurisdictional drainage and flood control problems. The District operates four programs: Master Planning; Floodplain Management; Design, Construction and Maintenance; and Information Services and Flood Warning. The District Board made a commitment to develop a comprehensive floodplain management program to prevent new problems from being created by new development, while “fixing” existing problems. Since 1969 the population of the District has tripled, and yet there are 5000 fewer structures in mapped 100-year floodplains.

The Economic Benefits of Green Infrastructure: A Case Study of Lancaster, PA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report that found green infrastructure can be a cost effective solution to controlling stormwater while providing numerous economic benefits. Using the City of Lancaster as a case study, EPA sought to quantify the economic benefits associated with utilizing green infrastructure for controlling wet weather pollution. The report estimated that within the combined sewer system (CSS) area, Lancaster’s green infrastructure plan will reduce gray infrastructure capital costs by $121.7 million and reduce wastewater pumping and treatment costs by $661,000 per year. It will also provide approximately $2.8 million in energy, air quality, and climate-related benefits annually. These benefits exceed the costs of implementing green infrastructure, which were estimated to range from $51.6 million if green infrastructure projects were integrated into already planned improvements to $94.5 million if green infrastructure projects were implemented independently.
Toolbox for Water Utility Energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Management
The Toolbox for Water Utility Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Management is a jointly funded report by the Global Water Research Coalition, Water Research Foundation, and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The report evaluates, compares, and contrasts process models, impact assessment methods, and performance indicators used by water utilities in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia to assess their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. (CC3C10)

Getting Climate Smart: A Water Preparedness Guide for State Action
Getting Climate Smart: A Water Preparedness Guide for State Action is a guide to assist water managers and state governments as they ready themselves for wide-ranging changes for their communities and ecosystems. Getting Climate Smart mixes practical guidance, planning tools, case studies and a holistic toolbox of strategies covering everything from agriculture, to energy, to public health and infrastructure. By following these steps, states can better prepare for future climate variability and better position themselves to tackle the inevitable challenges of a changing climate.

Developed with extensive input from leading utilities, states, and professional associations, this EPA document is intended to assist utility leaders implement proven and effective practices over time to improve their operations and move toward sustainability, at a pace consistent with their needs and the needs of their communities. The practices are organized according to three separate business levels, using the well accepted Effective Utility Management framework supported by EPA and major professional associations.